Evidence of meeting #2 for COVID-19 Pandemic in the 43rd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Mr. Chair, I have start-ups in my riding like that of Jason, who just opened a restaurant in January and has no payroll record from 2019.
Can the Prime Minister confirm that start-ups that don't have payroll records from 2019 will be able to be part of the economic recovery?
Liberal
Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
Indeed, we have put out additional measures to support all businesses in Canada through the regional development agencies. There is support there for businesses that may not qualify for some of the other measures.
The work isn't done. We will continue to work with businesses to make sure that all businesses in the country are indeed supported.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Mr. Chair, many of my constituents lost their oil and gas jobs months ago. Their EI has now run out. They don't qualify for the CERB. With everything in lockdown, there's no job market. Their number one concern, when asked about it on my Facebook page, was about the government's plan. How are we going to get the economy back on track?
Can the government inform the House of its plan to restore the economy? When will Canada be revising its health restrictions?
Conservative
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, first of all I would like to thank the member opposite for his question. It gives me the chance to let everyone in the House know that yesterday, we were very pleased to be able to publish a statement supported by all first ministers, all the premiers of the provinces and territories and the Prime Minister, agreeing to some principles that will guide us all across Canada as we move towards restarting the economy. This is a really important step and I'll talk about it more in a minute, perhaps.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Mr. Chair, with so many kids at home and spending time online, the risk of exploitation is significant. The RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre has found out that predators are sharing their glee and delight that they now have a lot more access to kids and are coaching each other on their methods.
Is the Prime Minister aware of the increased risks of sexual exploitation of children online due to the COVID-19 lockdown? Does the government have any estimates or models to protect children online?
Conservative
Liberal
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Chair, I think the protection of our children is our greatest responsibility. The RCMP centre for monitoring child exploitation is working very collaboratively and closely with all of our community partners in monitoring the situation. We recognize that with a lot of children at home there may be increased risk.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, I spoke to Lindsay Smith, a real estate professional and community leader in Oshawa with 30 years' experience. He fulfills the criteria for government small business funding but does not have a business chequing account, which is currently required to receive such funding. Many small business owners have found themselves in the same position.
Will the government lift this requirement, yes or no?
Liberal
Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
Mr. Chair, we are hearing that from businesses, and I want to assure the member that we are listening and working on it as we speak.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, Lisa Freeman is a constituent of mine. Her father's murderer was granted day parole on April 2. She was refused the right to attend the parole hearing by the minister. She was not even allowed to attend the meeting virtually. COVID-19 was given as the reason. She had no victim's right to face the person who changed her life forever and now he's on parole.
Will the minister commit to putting victims' rights first and at least allow victims and their families to participate in parole hearings virtually, yes or no?
Liberal
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Chair, I'm very pleased to advise the member that a decision has been made. I agree the initial decision of the Parole Board was to prohibit the attendance of victims at those hearings, but we recognized immediately how important that was and steps have been taken to make it possible for victims to participate in those parole hearings virtually by phone or video conference.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry said yesterday that since March, over 6,000 companies have stepped up to the plate to provide their services to producing PPE, yet grave shortages remain and many are complaining about the slow rollout of the government's licensing program. We need a made-in-Canada solution. Canadian manufacturers are up to the job and will create jobs in Canada.
As of today, how many licences has the government given to those 6,000 Canadian companies, and exactly how many pieces of PPE have these companies delivered to date?
Conservative
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, let me just thank the member opposite for the question and say that we do have a made-in-Canada solution.
I am proud of Thornhill Medical in my riding, which, even as we speak, is manufacturing ventilators. It has delivered some ventilators to the Government of Canada. Thank you very much.
In the member opposite's own riding, manufacturers are stepping up and producing PPE, as I am sure the member knows, and I'm sure he shares my pride in Canada's fantastic manufacturers.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, the question was as to how many licences the government has given to those 6,000 Canadian companies.
Conservative
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I do have some numbers here.
In terms of medical devices, we've authorized a total of 113 devices, 56 disinfectants and 763 medical device establishment licences. We have a number of others in review, hundreds in fact. There have been a small number rejected so far based on lack of critical information, about 126.
We're making progress, Mr. Chair.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, how many pieces of PPE have these companies delivered to date?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I will have to get back to you with those numbers.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, there is an owner of a hair salon in my riding who's biggest concern is the health and safety of his workers and his clients as he modifies his company to reopen post-COVID-19. However, he's worried about counterfeit products. He has been unable to find or get a list of PPE distributors and wants to keep his workplace safe when the health restrictions have been revised.
Will the government commit to providing a list of PPE suppliers to business owners, yes or no?
Liberal
Anita Anand Liberal Oakville, ON
Mr. Chair, our government has been doing a number of things to assist local businesses and those in need across the country. In particular, we are working very hard with a working group on essential services to discuss how we can better help broader sectors of the Canadian economy outside of front-line health care workers.
In addition, we have been assisting health care centres across the country with their PPE procurement from China to Canada. We stand ready to help Canadians.
Conservative
